WCW Slamboree 93'

RATING LEVELS:

Curt Hennig – A “GOAT” show, as Perfect as possible

Watch It – A consistently good show worth watching in its entirety

Watch It…With Remote in Hand – 3 or more above-average ratings

High Risk Maneuver – Mostly filler, inessential, but 1-2 good matches

DUDleyville – Zero redeeming qualities, chore to watch

SLAMBOREE 93 – May 1993

The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia

CHAMPIONSHIP BACKGROUNDS: Heading into tonight’s show, Vader is the WCW World Heavyweight Champion and Barry Windham holds the NWA World Championship. The WCW/NWA Unified Tag Team Champions are The Hollywood Blondes, Steve Austin and Brian Pillman. At this time, “Ravishing” Rick Rude is recognized as the United States Champion, though, his title win is still “up in the air” as Dustin Rhodes’ shoulder was up during the pinfall in their match. Finally, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff holds the Television Championship, having defeated Erik Watts in the finals of a tournament in March. (The belt was vacated at the end of 92’ when Scott Steiner left the company)

COMMENTATORS: Tony Schiavone and “The Living Legend” Larry Zybysko

Tonight’s theme is “A Legend’s Reunion,” so the show begins with a dozen and a half legends of wrestling in the ring. From there, Maxx Payne welcomes the queen of wrestling, the Fabulous Moolah, into the ring with one of his signature guitar solos. For the sake of consistency, since I gave his awesome rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner a glowing review as a way to kick-off SuperBrawl, I feel I must give Payne’s solo here a similar score, though, as there is a feeling of “Been there, Done that,” I’m knocking off a half-point. (3.5/5)

Our opening contest is Bobby Eaton & Chris Benoit taking on Marcus Bagwell & 2 Cold Scorpio. Aside for a rare flub from Benoit in the first third of the match, the heels do the heavy lifting here and do it well, pulling off all sorts of dirty tactics. Bagwell plays the face-in-peril nicely, selling big time for both Benoit and Eaton, while 2 Cold Scorpio’s hot tag pops the crowd. The finish is fairly brutal to watch, a great example of why Benoit was considered one of the toughest of his era. Not an all-time great match or anything, but certainly not a bad way to start the show. (3/5)

Van Hammer arrives next, oddly sporting Sid Vicious-esque tights instead of his usual heavy metal-inspired gear. His opponent tonight is Col. Robert Parker’s mystery man, the ACTUAL Sid Vicious. When Sid arrives, the crowd goes wild, which was not uncommon for the big man in WCW or WWE. This is a straightforward squash that lasts less than a minute, with Vicious oddly playing to the crowd the way a babyface might. This sort of match is hard to review considering how little meat there is to it, but if the goal is to get the audience excited about the return of Sid, mission accomplished. (3/5)

The first of several “Legends Matches” is next – a 6-man tag pitting  Dick Murdoch, Don Muraco, and “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka against Wahoo McDaniel, Blackjack Mulligan, and “Jumpin’” Jim Brunzell. The fact that Snuka is included as a legend is a little bit odd, not because (at age 50) he couldn’t be considered a legend, but because Superfly would go on to have at least two more “comebacks” in WWE and WCW (not to mention his continued work on the independent scene) through the rest of 90s. While this one isn’t anything to write home about, the southern ‘rasslin’ greats, Mulligan and Murdoch, get the biggest pops and the crowd is into the proceedings for the most part. Unfortunately, we don’t see any of Snuka’s high-flying or Blackjack’s claw, but what really hurts this match is the bizarre non-finish. While nobody embarrasses themselves, there’s not much to recommend either. (2/5)

Next up Ivan Koloff & Baron Von Raschke vs. Thunderbolt Patterson and Brad Armstrong (replacing “Bullet” Bob Armstrong, who was unable to compete). Patterson and Raschke can’t do much of anything in there aside from schtick, which is why it is puzzling to me that these two are the ones involved in the finish. Meanwhile, Koloff, who was 51 years young at the time, looks to be in great shape and moves quite well. The best thing to say about this might be that it is kept short. (1.5/5)

Instead of proceeding into our next contest, we get the semi-notorious reunion of the “original” Four Horsemen. As was typical for WCW, though, what was advertised and what was presented was not always the same thing. While we do get Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and Ole Anderson decked out in formal wear for the occasion, instead of Tully Blanchard, Flair introduces the newest member of the Horsemen (and arguably the worst in the history of the stable), “Pretty” Paul Roma. As much as I’d like to bash Roma’s induction into the legendary group, it’s not like his debut is instantly groan-inducing the way The Shockmaster's was. In fact, Roma was a handsome gent and had a good physique. As a worker, he wasn’t abysmal – the kind of guy that someone backstage obviously saw at least a little potential in. Unfortunately, as other writers have pointed out, there are so many minor details that went wrong from the start of his run that he never really had a chance to succeed. For example, Roma was a natural heel (and had been one in the WWE for years), but Flair was immensely popular at the time, turning Roma face by proxy. Plus, earlier in the night, former Horsemen Sid Vicious had returned (also to huge cheers), making him seem like the more reasonable pick to rejoin the team. Finally, if you advertise the “original” Horsemen, the worst thing you can do is present a brand new character that was a lower midcarder in the WWE as being worthy of such a position. Still, all of this has nothing to do with the segment itself, which is executed well and features Ric being Ric (always a good thing). (2.5/5)

Dory Funk Jr. (with Gene Kiniski) vs. Nick Bockwinkel (with Verne Gagne) is next, a “dream match” about a decade too late…scratch that – two decades. Funk looks every bit of his 52-year age here in terms of cosmetic appearance, while Bockwinkel looks comparatively younger (even though he was actually 6 years older). Both men perform some very good scientific maneuvers and deliver stiff shots throughout the match so it's not a total train wreck. Considering neither man had been active for years, this might be the best match that could’ve been achieved, though its still far from a classic. Like the 6-man earlier, the finish is a bit shoddy, predictable and hurt by the fact that neither guy was truly capable of revving up to a “higher gear.” (2.5/5)

Talking about “higher gears,” the entirety of the next match seems to be working in one. Dustin Rhodes and Kensuke Sasaki team up to take on “Ravishing” Rick Rude and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff in what the commentators call a “tag team grudge match.” Rude had only recently (and controversially) defeated Rhodes for the US Title, but also had history with Sasaki. From the start, the crowd is very vocal in their support of the babyfaces, welcoming Mr. Wonderful with louds chants of “Paula.” Rude is the definite MVP of this match, doing an excellent job of making the baby faces’ offense look devastating. I particularly like how he sells for Sasaki, smartly making sure that the foreigner comes off as a big deal compared to these three, all of who are established stars in the US. While this one is too short to rave about, it’s not a bad bout at all. (3/5)

The next segment is the WCW Wrestling Hall of Fame Induction of Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne, Mr. Wrestling II (who gets a huge pop from the Atlanta crowd), and Eddie Graham by Gordon Solie. Unfortunately, the first induction is marred by technical difficulties, specifically Solie’s microphone cutting in and out. From there, things go smoothly, but don’t get very exciting, aside from an interesting story about Mr. Wrestling II being invited to President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration but turning down the offer because he would have been required to take off his mask. (3/5)

The special “bounty” match is next – Sting vs. The Prisoner (formerly known as Nailz in the WWE). The Prisoner repeatedly applies very lame-looking chokes at the start of the match, which Sting (and the commentators) have to sell as far more devastating than they appear. After a year of great matches against Vader, Rude, and others, Sting is wasted here against an opponent that was just too green to keep up with him. (1/5)

The next bout is a bit of a curveball – The Hollywood Blondes vs. Dos Hombres in a cage for the WCW/NWA World Tag Team Championships. The match was advertised as the Blondes defending their titles against the former champions, Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas, but as Douglas had left the company, Steamboat went under a mask and teamed with another masked man (played here by Tom Zenk) but actually performing as “Shane Douglas” according to the commentators, announcers,  and graphics. As they are covered head-to-toe in identical costumes and full luchadore masks, the match suffers from keeping Steamboat’s always-great facial expressions hidden. Helping things out is Austin’s bumping, as he flies into the cage multiple times, and Pillman’s equally entertaining work – at this point, the Hollywood Blondes were really clicking as a team and it shows. Still, this one just doesn’t live up to the matches this feud featured previously, a sad ending to one of the best things WCW had put on PPV. (3.5/5)

The first of two World Championship matches is next, with Barry Windham defending the NWA World title against Arn Anderson. I went into this one with high expectations based on the history of these two, as well as the novelty of seeing Anderson competing for a World Championship. As both guys work a rather slow, methodical pace, the crowd doesn't get too loud, even after Windham gets opened up wide above his right eye. Anderson's Spinebuster brings people to their feet, but the Enforcer's overzealousness about getting at the champ ends up costing him the match in a sharp finish. Unfortunately, this one just didn't live up to what I (or most of the fans in the Omni, it seems) expected. (3/5)

Onward to tonight’s main event – WCW World Champion Vader defending his title against relative WCW newcomer The British Bulldog. Starting off, Bulldog deflects most of Vader’s onslaught, even getting the big man up in an impressive vertical suplex at one point. Over time, though, Vader’s blows start taking a toll and the Baby Bull takes control of the match. What I enjoyed about this match was that Bulldog and Vader sold well throughout, with Bulldog’s comebacks just as well executed as Vader’s cut-offs. Davey Boy’s physique may have been “performance enhanced” at this time, but he didn’t seem too winded to me. While some would certainly critique the closing minutes as utter trash, I think it worked – Vader and Race, too frustrated to continue to wrestle on an even playing field, take the cowards way out but continue to impose dominance over not only the challenger but a couple other babyfaces. Then, with a final run-in, we get a good set-up for a future PPV main event. Is this Vader’s best showing? Far from it…but it’s still Vader in his prime. As for the Bulldog, Davey Boy has often been slighted for getting carried by Bret Hart, Owen Hart, and Shawn Michaels, but this match shows he was perfectly capable of wrestling a better-than-average match without his family and friends working extra hard to make him look good. (3.5/5)

With an average match rating 2.69-out-of-5, it would be a challenge to recommend this show to even the most avid WCW fan. The best match on the card, the cage match between the Hollywood Blondes and Dos Hombres is a fun viewing and Vader/Bulldog exceeded my expectations, but there are some serious stinkers on the card as well. The Sting/Prisoner match is a complete waste of time, Anderson/Windham is underwhelming, and the first two Legends matches are nothing worth seeing. While, by my own descriptors, this show may have snuck its way into the “High Risk Maneuver” category based on the main event and the two tag team matches, I’m going to make the executive decision to label this one differently because, compared to what WCW produced in 92’ and what you COULD be watching to get your Pre-Hogan WCW Fix, this card is simply not worth your time.

FINAL RATING - DUDLeyville